Tape-moisteiteb



W. E. RICE.

TAPE MOISTENER.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

Patented Oct. 21, 1919.

W. E. RICE.

TAPE NIOISTENER.

APPucATxoM man was, 191s.

m MOM, MM

i UNITED STATES PATENT oFFIcE.

WILLIAM n. RICE, on CAMBRIDGE, MnssAcrnIsE'rr/s.l

TAPE-,MOISTENER.

To all ywhom 'it may concern Y 'Be it known that I, WILLIAM E. Rien, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cambridge, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, ylrave invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tapetion undrawn safely dry and so fheld as to be conveniently drawn and moistened when wanted. Devices for th1s general purpose have long been known in numerous varieties;

buit it is the object of the present invention to provide superiorapparatus having certain particular advantages, among which are the provision of effective and inexpensive means to facilitate thel feeding of the gummed strip, and especiallyto hold. it softhat it is not likely to stick to the holding device; to reduce the unnecessary friction in the vicinity of the moistening roller and at the same time to assure yan effective pressing of thevstrip lagainst the moistener, and in this respect to provide for doing by hand that which it has been thought necessary to provide a separate roller to accomplish in other machines; to provide for holding up in air, in a dry condition and in proximity to the moistener, the advance end of the strip which is ready to be seized and drawnv forth; and to providestructural improvements in other respects and especially in the means for holding the different vparts of the strip and providing tension therefor. Details of the means by which these various objects are accomplished are set forth hereinafter; and the drawings illustrate an embodiment of the invention. The invention may, however, be embodied in other forms within the scope of the appended claims.

It is-intended that the patent shall cover,

by suitable expression in the appended claims, whatever features of paten-talble novelty exist in the invention disclosed.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation partly in section' Fig. 2 'is a fragmentary similar elevation Y Specication of Letters Patent. s Patelilted VOblig-,21, 1919; `Application viled yAugust 5, 1918. Serial No, $248,243.` Y i of a slightly different form, in longitudinal section; Fig. 3 is a rsection through the 'spring apron, as on'the line 3 3 of Fig.`1; Fig. 4 is a plan ofthe machine of Fig. lor Fig. 2, with the tape as in Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a cross section through the machine on the line 5- 5 of Fig. 1; i l Fig. 6 is a fragmentary longitudinal section on the line k6-'6 of Fig. 5; and Y Fig. 7 is a side elevation of a detail. Referring to the drawings, the machine has a frame 10 which has at one end, here called the forward'end, a moistening roller 11 which may conveniently have a metallic or porcelain surface, and may be set so as to revolve on pintles 12 with its lower part dipped'in a water pan 13 from which it is readily lremovable by being lifted. This water pan is illustrated as being formed by Walls which |are integral with che other parts of the frame 10, the Whole of which may conveniently and cheaply be made of cast iron. Atthe rear end of the frame are two uprights 14 in the top of which are notches l5 which: receive a shaft 16 that constitutes the axle for the supply roll 17 of tape. The tape in passing from this supply toward the'moistenin'g roller goes under a guide roll 18. and over a spring holder or' apron 19 and, at the end of the latter close to the moistener, is pressed by it upward against a small directing roller 20.V By the' conjoint effect of the spring apron and the directing'roller, the tape is made to vpoint upward as Vmuch as is desired; but these two, the spring aprons tip and the directing roller, yare so located with reference to the moistening roller that the tapeissues 'between them below the crest of the -moistening roller. The blade 2l for severing the' tape may bel arranged at any desired distance above this level,` as forexample, at 21 Fig. 2, an yinch above, or, as another example, 21, Fig. 1,4may be arranged.

proaehes that of the quadrant of a cylinder, Y

but it is not necessarily of this shape, and some or all of thev advantages that are characteristic of it maybeobtained from a flat plate,v inclined or horizontal. This plate, whether curved or flat, has corrugations 22 in its middle part which extend in the direction in which the tape travels. These aid in the feeding of the tape, an operation which is performed by the finger of the person who is to use it, by preventing the tape from acquiring any firm attachment to the plate on which the tape rests, or being retarded thereby. This is because Athe tape with which the apparatus is used ordinarily has sufficient stiffnessto bridge the valleys of the corrugations and, resting only on the crests, to have contact with the plate at a very few points, thus affording small opportunity for the gum to adhere in case humidity of the atmosphere or even an unexpected deposit of moisture on the plate itself causes danger of that. Even such hold as the tape may acquire on the crests of these corrugations is instantly broken when a user puts his finger on the back ofthe tape in order to draw it forward, for such finger, pressing between such corrugations, bends the tape transversely and thus loosens any hold that the crests` of the corrugations may have upon it.- VIn practice, the resting of the tape on the crests of such corrugations makes the feeding considerably easier than where the tape rests on a flat surface as has been pro posed in finger fed machines heretofore. In such earlier machines, the downward pressure which is necessary to get a frictional grip on the tape increases the intensity of pressure between the tape and the plate and thus increases the retarding friction. It would lseem that thesanie reasoning would apply when the tape isr placed against a corrugated plate, and that the retarding friction would equally be increased by pressure; but I have discovered that on the contrary the friction becomes negligible when such corrugations are used. If the apron be inclined, or quadrant-shaped as illustrated, its inclination facilitates the engaging and advancing of the tape by mere pressure of ones finger applied in forward direction to the back of the tape. The forward end of this plate is curved upward on a small radius as at 23 around the directing roller 20. v.The extent of this upward curve depends upon the direction which is to be given to the tape end which projects thence vready to be drawn. If the severing blade is in the higher position illustrated (Fig. 2), the tip of the plate 19 is bent to a considerable degree around the directing roller 20 enough to give direction to the end of the tape so that the inch or so which extends beyond this point will stand upright close to the moistening roller but free and clear thereof, and in a position where it can be conveniently grasped by hand and drawn forth by seizure of the forward end of the tape. However, if the knife blade 21 is set in the lower 'position illustrated (Fig. 1), in which case the tape end is close under the knifeand so is not accessible to seizure with the fingers, the curvature of the plate end 23 need not be so great. It should, how.- ever, be enough so as to give a definitely upward course to the tape. This being so, it is possible to design the apparatus with the moistening roller 11 set rather high, and with the tape issuing towardit at a point well down in the upper rear quadrant of its circumference, with the very useful result that the tape can be drawn forth with a horizontal movement of the hand and yet receive a suiicient moistening and a suiiicient pressure against the moistening roller to force the water into the gum as is requisite for efficient adhesion. Recognizing the ditliculty of getting such pressure, machines heretofore proposed have provided an extra part in the form of a pressure roller to force the tape against the moistening roller. The present invention permits the omission of that part. It, moreover, attains another end -which is particularly useful in shipping rooms, where such machines are used, by making it practicable to set the machine on the rear of the counter. This is because it is possible to get sufficient wetting of the tape by the horizontal movement, whereas heretofore such machines have had to be set near the forward edge of the counter where the tape could be drawn downward over the forward upper quadrant. The getting of sufficient wetting from the rear quadrant, with the horizontal movement, follows from the setting of the moistening roll so high; and that in turn is made possible by the upward direction given to the tape by the curved tip of the apron, it having been found that with "i the absence of such a tip there is danger of the tape deflecting downward instead of up,- ward on being advanced by a push against the moistening roller, unless it strikes it close to the top. The directing roller 2() which cooperates to this end is extraordinarily simple in its construction and combination with the other elements. In fact, it may be merely a length of wire with its ends dropped into a couple of notches in the frame 10. It gives a round bearing for the tape where the tape bends upward somewhat sharply; and by keeping the back of the tape out of contact with the adjacent edge of the knife blade, in the type where it is close to the knife, it both relieves the tape of unnecessary friction and relieves the knife blade of unnecessary wear. Morebver, as it is lower than its knife blade, it provides a longer are of contact between tape and,

moistening roller, as compared ,with those machines in which the tape, when drawn forth under tension, runs directly from the edge of the blade to the moistening roller.

The rear end of the apron 19 constitutes the spring portion of it and is iformed into a hook 24 which engages under a cross rod 25. A cross rod 26 a little distance above affords a fulcrum over which the apron is machine.

bent. It imparts sufficient tension so lthat the forward end of the apron presses always up against the directing roller 20. Yet when the tape is being drawn forth, this whole spring apron can yield downwardly, bending around rod 26, so that the tap-e can pass straight from the directing roller to the moistening roller, notwithstanding the fact that in normal position of rest the tip 23 may stand so high as to obstruct the direct path of the tape to the moistening roller. The corrugations 22 in the plate cause the middle ortion thereof to be so stiff that the bending of the apron occurs only at the fulcrum 26. Desired stiffness is thus had in a rather thin sheet of metal, because the 'bending is thus forced into a short distance in the vicinity of the two rods 25 and 26.

Another feature of the apparatus illustrated is the device for holding the supply rolls of tape and for providing tension. The supply rolls rest loosely on the axle 16, which is a simple rod passing through the roll and a couple of rather narrow side plates 27 pressed on the ends of the roll z'. e., on the edges of the paper strip as rolled, by a couple of flat metal springs 28, with upper ends forked as at 29, straddling the axle 16, whose ends are dropped into the notches 15. The plate 27 on each side of the supply roll is prevented from rotating by having a notch 30 in its bottom edge that engages a bar 31 extending across the frame, coupled with the fact that the axle 16 goes through the upper part of the plate. For putting these plates into position after the supply roll is in place on the axle, a long slot 32 extends nearly vertically from the lower edge of the plate, curving sharply forward at the top to provide a horizontal notch 33 for the axle. As one is' on each side of the supply roll, whichever way that roll is mounted, z'. e., whichever way it rotates, one or the other of these notches is by friction dragged against the axle, and so prevents the plate from Ibeing lifted, and so in turn prevents the notch 30 from rising from the bar 31. The whole can, however, be removed instantly by being lifted out of the notches 15. It is not in all cases necessary to have the slot 32 and notch formation 33 at the upper end thereof, and so the drawings show a different form. applied as a division plate 27 for separating two rolls which may be mounted side by side on the In. this form, the slot 32 and its upper notch 33 are replaced by a simple hole 34 for the axle which works equally well, but has the disadvantage that the axle has to be inserted through it endwise.

When so inserted, 'theuweight of theparts acting through the axle andA the hole 34 keeps this division plate 2 7 `down so that its notch 30 is engaged in the cross bar 31, and hence so that the division plate 27 cannot rotate from its position. It is free to be lifted with the other partsV when the axle is lifted. v The apparatus thus described Vhas the important commercial characteristic that it is fool-proof, having no parts which can get into inoperative position by misadjustment. At the same time, the flexibility of the ten- .sion springs 28 is such that it can take any The tape used can be wound either with the gum inside or the gum outside; and the absence of moving parts gives an enduring simplicity to the apparatus as a whole.

I claim as my invention:

1. A tape moistener comprising in comb-inationa holder for a supply roll of tape, a moistener, and an intervening apron having longitudinal tape-supporting corrugations.

2. A tape moistener comprising in combination a holder for a supply roll of tape, a moistener, and an intervening apron arranged with an upward incline from the rear toward the moistener and having longitudinal tape-supporting corrugations in the inclined portion.

3. A tape moistener comprising in combination a holder for a supply roll of tape, a moistener, and an intervening tape-supporting spring plate; cross rods also intervening, one above the other at a distance in the rear of the moistener; the plate being hooked under the lowei" rod, bent forward over the upper rod, and terminating close in the rear of and below the level of the top of the moistener, whereby its forward end is yieldingly held upward by the elasticity of the plate bending about said rod at said distance to the rear.

4L. A tape moistener comprising in combination a holder for a supply roll of tape; a inoistener; an intervening tape-supporting spring apron; and a fixed bar close to and behind the moistener, under which bar the tape passes; the forward end of the spring apron terminating substantially at said b-ar, and being curved around the bar and pressed toward the baryieldingly by its said spring quality; said curvature and apron pressure with respect to the bar being such that when the tape is not under tension the pressure between the bar and the bight of the curvek deflects the tape upward and holds the part of 1t beyond the bar projecting in a position neXt to the rear side of the moistener and out of Contact therewith, but yields, moving out of the straight line of draft of tape from bar to rnoistener when the tape is under tension. Y 5. A tape inoistener comprising in combination al frame; a. moistener; a holder including an aXle for a supply roll of tape; and plates with springs adapted to compress the supply roll endwise between thein; Said plates having notches to engage the frame l nient of the axle, whereby the drag of rotation of the tape roll keeps said axle engaged in a horizontal notch.

Signed at Boston, Massachusetts, this 2nd day of August, 1918.

WILLIAM E. RICE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, 1D. C. 

